A group of Japanese public activists of the Ōgata city (Akita Prefecture) have started fund raising for creating a bronze statue of the legendary sumoist Taihō Kōki of Ukrainian origin.

      The monument will be later set up in the Russian city of Poronaysk (the Sakhalin Region).

      It is planned to collect about 8 million yens (about 2.5 million rubles) necessary for creating the monument.

      The monument to the highest sumo title holder Taihō Kōki is planned to be completed by summer this year. The bronze monument will be 2.3 m high.

      “We expect to receive donations for this project from the entire prefecture”, - the sculptor Toshio Kamada, who is working on the statue, pointed out.

      The father of the great Japanese champion is Markiyan Boryshko, a native of the Kharkov Region. After the end of World War II and transition of Sakhalin to the USSR, the family was separated: the father was repressed by the Soviet authorities as a former White Guard soldier, and the mother with the five-year-old son were repatriated to the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

      Taihō Kōki started his sumo career in 1956, and as soon as 1960 won the first tournament. Subsequently he became the unconditional winner in the Honbasyo series tournaments 31 times more. He also had a remarkable result of 45 victories in a row, which is the seventh case in the entire history of Japanese sumo.

      Taihō Kōki still remains a paragon of diligence and commitment for young athletes. The death of the outstanding sportsman in January last year became a great loss for the world of Japanese sumo.